Christmas is just around the corner and evokes a wide range of associations for Germans. Only about one in three still connects Christmas with the festival of love, while over two-thirds think of gifts. This is the finding of a study by the BAT Foundation for Future Issues, for which 1,000 German citizens were surveyed in a representative sample about their personal Christmas associations. "The commercialization of the Christmas season is particularly pronounced among the younger generation. While the Christmas tree is still the most frequently mentioned symbol for the general population, those under 34 primarily think of the presents underneath it. Only one-third of Germans still associate the original origin of the Christian holiday – the birth of Jesus Christ – with Christmas; among young people, it's only one in four," says the study's lead author, Professor Dr. Ulrich Reinhard.

Significant differences also exist between genders and between East and West Germany: While men are more likely than average to associate Christmas with lots of food, kitsch, and family arguments, women think of reflection and time with family much more often, but also almost twice as often about Christmas stress. West Germans are twice as likely as to associate Christmas with going to church and even three times as likely as to associate it with the birth of Jesus Christ as East Germans. East Germans, on the other hand, mention reflection, love, and peace more often than average.